TVF Aspirants: Unearthing the struggles of UPSC candidates

In this part of the world, government jobs are often deemed as a lottery ticket by millions of people. Every year, millions of Indians sit for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams with aspirations of security in life. 

TVF (The Viral Fever) aspirants portrayed the struggles of these UPSC candidates in a way that tugged at our heartstrings and made us empathise with its brilliantly written characters, who played the roles of different UPSC aspirants.

Watch the trailer here 

TVF is regarded as one of the pioneers of Indian web series industry and over the years, its OTT platform has come up with amazing shows like Pitchers, Kota Factory, Panchayat and more. 

In the shape of its freshly launched web series "Aspirants", TVF has delivered yet another gift.  

Aspirants was created by Arunabh Kumar and Shreyansh Pandey; Apoorv Singh Karki assumed the director's seat and Deepesh Sumitra Jagdish wrote the screenplay. 

The story is set in Rajendrapur, India where the protagonist Abhilash (Naveen Kasturia), an engineer by degree, decides to sit for the UPSC examination.  

It is said that the UPSC examination is one of the toughest exams in the world. Regardless, millions of Indians aspire to be an IAS officer. 

Abhilash was one of them. His personal struggles intertwined with his journey of becoming an IAS officer gives us a genuine picture of the trials faced by UPSC aspirants.  

However, the plot is not limited to the struggles of the dreamers of Rajendrapur. Instead, the story keeps us engaged in its heart-wrenching drama whether it is about the friendship of Abhilash, Guri (Shivankit Singh) and SK (Abhilash Thapliyal) or the complicated love affair between Abhilash and Dhariya (Namita Dubey) or the personal conflicts of different struggling souls. 

It starts with the present scenario, where Abhilash is seen as a hero of people, an IAS officer going viral for his noble attempt. Abhilash's friends, Guri and SK who were also aiming to be an IAS officer did not make it. 

Guri, the macho guy from Punjab becomes a businessman and SK starts coaching the candidates of UPSC aspirants. 
Their journey to reach their destination was full of bittersweet memories and the flashbacks were smoothly executed. 
In each subsequent episode, we see the characters getting explored in a greater detail.  

We see Guri not as a man with a strong physique but as a man with a pure heart. We see Dhariya, the female lead as the intelligent small town girl aspiring to become an officer as well. 

But the romance between her and Abhilash displayed a different version of Dhariya. Those scenes were surely drenched with honey - too sweet to handle! 

Then we have SK, the glue that holds the friendship of the trio of Abhilash, Guri and himself. Although a few unfortunate events have created rifts between Guri and Abhilash, their reunion after six years is captivating. 

However, a surprising revelation from Guri shook Abhilash and led to another fight with her in the reunion. 

Even though Abhilash is the protagonist, people were extremely attached to the character who lived next door. He is Sandeep Bhaiya (Sunny Hinduja). 

Sandeep's journey included many sacrifices like keeping his lover waiting for years, staking his stable job, and being the last hope for his financially incapable father. Nonetheless, nothing swayed Sandeep away from his goal to conquer the UPSC exams and this in turn, fueled Abhilash's hope. 

His role received so much love that netizens know Hinduja not by his real name but as 'Sandeep Bhaiya', even though he played another significant role in the popular series 'The Family Man'. 

Coming to the cinematography, the beautifully written song 'Dhaga' playing during the scene of Abhilash sobbing on his friend's shoulder was a breathtaking shot. But when the camera points to the rain-drenched 'Sandeep Bhaiya' with teary eyes, it might force you to shed some tears. 

However, in the final episode, Abhilash again finds new hope. How? Let's not ruin it for you, as many events that happened in the last episode will keep you awestruck. The outstanding scriptwork during the scene of their reunion is enough to riddle so many emotions.

It is not an ordinary series, but an epitaph of the real-life struggles of those aspirants whose struggles are not highlighted often. Yet, again TVF has proven its worth by bringing originality to the screen. The towering performance of the underrated cast deserves credit as well. 

As it was free to watch, the ads of 'Unacademy' might annoy you at times. But watching such a refreshing show for free requires a bit of compromise, right?